


Mon-El, A Character Study

by 93Mika



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Character Analysis, Character Growth, Character Study, Hero's Journey, Mention Of Karamel, Power of Love, character history, loss and hope, mentions of physical and emotional abuse, survivor's guilt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:53:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25209520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/93Mika/pseuds/93Mika
Summary: An in-depth analysis of Mon-El of Daxam's character and his evolution as shown by Supergirl.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 22





	Mon-El, A Character Study

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone, so this is not exactly a fanfiction but rather a character study I put together for Mon-El thanks to @SarahZorEL giving me the opportunity.

Like any other character, the best place to start with understanding Mon-El, his personality, and characteristics, is from the very beginning of his story; his origins, and where he was born and lived before appearing to us whole and already defined.

Daxam. Despite sharing many physical features with its sister world, Krypton – from having the same red star to the same ancestors – Daxam turned out to develop a very different culture compared to the uptight, science-driven society which Krypton excelled to be, with its high council of proud elites ruling over their people with a strict justness that was their definition democracy and equality. But while Kryptonians celebrated their mastery over their planet, Daxamites chose a widely different path, deciding that one spiritual leader would be a better judge of what was best for them, and put their faith in their gods and the supremacy of their chosen ones. Their purpose in life was then to keep their gods satisfied so as to not perish by their wrath and to be allowed into the eternal bliss of their promised afterlife. 

In this system of belief, life was prewritten for Daxamites, and even though they were openly committed to their carnal desires (the more the merrier!) and free to take their pleasure in any intoxicating drugs or drinks they desired, it is easy to see that these had served simply to distract people from the institutionalized patriarchy in which individuality and independent thinking was denied by the elders and monarchs who decided how much freedom one could possess to the point of who they were allowed to bond with for life. In this self-serving totalitarian state, the well-being of people wasn’t deemed worthy as long as it didn’t threaten the enhancement of the ones this system actually benefited. Therefore, it comes with no surprise that slavery existed on Daxam. 

The tendrils of oppression within Daxam’s society was so underlyingly extended that even the crowned prince of Daxam was no exception to it. While provided with an unfathomable amount of wealth since birth and promised with infinite power in his future, Mon-El too was merely a political pawn in his parents’ eyes, the true owners of the power. He too became a victim of the system that was built to take away his opinions, empathy, and even a choice in life. He gave up fighting against the wrongdoings and the injustice he so very clearly saw around him but had no voice or power to make a change. He submitted to his fate and became transparent, distracting himself like everyone else to subdue his true feelings and the voice of reason in him. He didn’t know any better. This is as far as his interactions and dialogues with Kara and his parents, throughout season 2, leads one to deduce.

To go into more hidden and unaddressed aspects of Mon-El’s life on Daxam, Mon-El’s response to confinement and imprisonment on multiple occasions during his story in season 2 could be a telltale of his previous experience with such situations. From his chill, even snarky behavior in the DEO cell in the first time under the accusation of attacking the president (2x03), to smarting his way out very quickly (albeit unsuccessful) by identifying his guard’s pressure point while being taken hostage by Cadmus (2x07), his quick damage controlling suggests kidnapping or perhaps similar punishments in his untold past. The possibility became even stronger later on in season 2 when Mon-El spoke his mind quite literally for the first time to his father, questioning their tyrannic ways and was answered by physical punishment from his mother with a slap to the face followed by immediate imprisonment (2x17). The Queen of Daxam tolerated not even the mildest criticisms. To her, nothing could come before the power of the throne of Daxam and she wasn’t above using violence, torture, or even murder of a loved one (her husband, the King) to ensure the security of the throne for herself. Rhea’s abusive and power-hungry authoritative actions, however, went beyond just inflicting physical ail. Her greatest tool had prominently been her mind games and emotional manipulation; as we saw her using the King’s death (whom she had killed herself) and her (fake) motherly love to gaslight Mon-El into submission at the end of 2x20.

Having this in mind, it can be theorized that Mon-El must have experienced a rather traumatizing childhood, beyond physical suppression, or simply sitting in a cell for a few days. Before meeting Mon-El’s parents, we witnessed how terrified he was of his parents, to the point where he told Kara that he would run the other way if he met his father because “he wasn’t a good man” (2x15), which must have been put mildly. What must Mon-El have seen of his father to fear him so? One can go on and on with this, but, TL;DR, what is important to draw from this analysis, is that Mon-El for his whole life on Daxam had been surrounded by oppression, lies, and a witness of dire consequences for the crime of speaking out the truth, which helps to explain his preservative, overly cautious and untrusting personality in the beginning when we saw him being overly skeptical about Jeremiah Danvers’ homecoming in 2x15 which only proved how effective his way of thinking, his defense mechanism, was while living in a deceitful house. It is also noteworthy to add here the conditions Mon-El lived under, undoubtedly contributed to his initially low self-esteem and poor self-worth despite the charming bravado that he put on display for others. His survival guilt from being the last living Daxamite in the universe - in his mind, before the arrival of his parents in 2x16 - while expected, is excessively amplified by his self-loathe and distrust in himself to be of any good in life, to the point that in 2x07 he admits that he didn’t think that he deserved to survive Daxam, or in 2x08 when he seemed submitted to his fate at the hands of Medusa virus.

Nevertheless, it took the last daughter of Krypton to shake Mon-El’s entire being, crumbling his fixated beliefs of life, and to push him to break free from the life long invisible chains bounding his soul, to allow himself to flourish, grow and love the way he was truly meant to. Yet as it happens, no growth is without struggles and Mon-El earned his stripes not by never making mistakes but by making many and never giving up until his transition from the mindless prince to a true hero was fulfilled. Mon-El’s journey was inspired by hope, a hope echoing Kara Zor-El’s. As cliche as it sounds, it was his love for Kara and her reciprocating steadfast belief in him that helped him to rise up, proving once again the infinite power of love.

Whilst the impact of Kara Zor-El and her love on Mon-El’s life is undeniable, it should not overshadow the role of Mon-El’s own fortitude. An important part of Mon-El’s hero’s journey is nature versus nurture. If he really didn’t have it in him to care for the people around him, his growth would have probably looked a lot different. In his first act of heroism in 2x06 (his rite of passage as I like to call it), when both Supergirl and Martian Manhunter have fallen ill from a fight against Parasite, we see him standing up when the city is defenseless, even after hearing an earful from Alex. Even if filled with doubt and fear, he still had the ability to see the right from wrong and his instincts kicked into gears when given the opportunity (We even see him trying to help a homeless man at the end of 2x06).

From then on, it was just falling of dominos, with some hiccups along the way, like the reveal of his identity and temporarily breaking up with Kara (2x16 and Flash 3x16), which in that context meant no ill but a cover to the shame he constantly felt of the person he was, a life he rather forgot.

By end of Season 2, Mon-El was a reformed person, ready to don a heavy cape and sacrifice his life for the greater good even if it meant departing from Kara, the love of his life. It became evident even prior to season 2 ending, when being forced to return to Daxam by the threat of Kara’s life (2x17), Mon-El didn’t roll back into his lethargic and the yes-man-to-his-parents old self. He set his foot down to change things for the better on Daxam. He was willing to be committed and good to his people and there is no doubt at this point, were he given the chance, he would have become the king who freed Daxam from tyranny, abolished slavery, and strived for democracy on a new Daxam.

Fate, sadly, had a twisted taste and sent Mon-El of a thousand years into the future. From then on, for seven years, it’s unclear how much hardship and loneliness he endured starting anew. All that, however, did little to diminish his will to become (stay) a better person, the hero only Kara saw in him, and thus he created the Legion of Superheroes in her memory, honoring her legacy and broadcasting her message of hope across the universe because Mon-El is nothing if not about grand gestures. He accepted his new reality and for the sake of Earth, he did what he most likely would never have agreed to given the chance. Mon-El gave into an arranged marriage with Imra Ardeen from Titan, despite being clearly still very much in love with Kara. This only proves further how much he is willing to give up if it means saving people, just like Kara would do. Mon-El from the Legion of Superheroes, is a humble leader, a person true to himself, and a hero who is always aware of the people around him, and certainly doesn’t idly walk by when he sees the suffering of a little boy in Argo City.

Mon-El’s story is far from over and he is no one-dimensional character. All this piece reveals is merely the tip of the iceberg. As the last word, I like to add that to me, to know Mon-El is to learn that no matter how ungraceful, undeserving, and ignorant one feels like in life, it is never late or impossible to heal, to love, to hope, to grow, and to become kinder. That no matter how dark things appear, in a world seemingly drowning in indifference and cruelly, we all are capable of being a little more understanding, open to change, and valorous like Mon-El of Daxam.

**Author's Note:**

> Mon-El's character has a special place in my heart for many reasons. I feel like I could have written for many more pages about Mon-El but I had to control myself and stick to the most important parts and not bore you all with the already obvious stuff. I tried to look at his character only through himself and his Daxamite roots, and not the way we always see him as Kara's boyfriend, not through the lens of their relationship.
> 
> Thank you for reading. I hope you liked this piece. Let me know of your thoughts.  
> 


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